The Working Hours Act in Austria

Long story short: In Austria you are not allowed to work for more than twelve hours per day and 60 hours per week, including overtime. Total working time may not exceed 48 hours per week based on a 17-week average. Nevertheless, there are many exceptions also included in the Working Hours Act. Read more about working hourse in Austria.

Austria stands out thanks to its excellent working conditions. For this reason, it is quite popular as a country of immigration for skilled employees. The convincing advantages not only include the good average salary in an EU comparison, but also legal regulations on working time for employees. Here you will find out everything you need to know about the topic of legally stipulated working hours in Austria.

Normal working hours 

The Working Hours Act in Austria prescribe a maximum working time of eight hours per working day, and a maximum permissible number of 40 weekly working hours. Working time is defined as the period of time between the beginning of work and the end of work. Breaks or rest periods are not included, and are also not paid, unless stipulated otherwise by collective agreements.b

Special forms of working time in Austria 

In addition to full-time work featuring a 40-hour work week or weekly working hours specified in a collective agreement, there are other employment options or special forms of working hours. In this case there are also a large number of provisions contained in the Working Hours Act in Austria. The most frequent forms are presented here:

• Overtime: Working hours exceeding regular weekly or daily working hours are considered to comprise overtime. According to the law, up to 20 hours of overtime per week are allowed in the case of an increased workload. As a consequence, you are permitted to work up to twelve hours per day and 60 hours per week. However, you have the right to refuse overtime if this would cause you to work more than ten hours per day or more than 50 hours in a given week. You are not required to explain the reasons for your decision. In line with legal regulations, you must be paid an additional premium of at least 50 percent for overtime work. It must be pointed out that there are many exceptions to overtime. For this reason, overtime is precisely defined in the respective collective agreement or employment contract. 
   
• Flexible working hours or flexitime: A flexible working time agreement means that you can decide yourself when your working day begins and when it ends within the time frame stipulated by the employer. Flexible working time also means that you can flexibly distribute your regular working hours. If you work longer hours in one day, you can amass time credits. On the other hand, minus hours are also possible. However, regular working hours are not normally permitted to exceed ten per day. In contrast, the flexible working time agreement allows for a maximum of twelve hours at work in one working day. However, this is subject to other conditions with respect to using time credits.
   
• Part-time work: Part-time work in Austria means the agreed-upon average weekly working hours fall below the legally stipulated regular working time of 40 hours or the shorter regular working hours regulated by a collective agreement. However, part-time employees must not be put at a disadvantage compared to full-time employees, for example when it comes to special bonus payments. Salary or wages for part-time employees are calculated on a pro-rata basis of the salary of a full-time employee.
   
• Short-time work: If a company finds itself in an economically difficult situation, it may temporarily reduce regular working hours and the corresponding salary or wages under certain conditions. However, in this case an agreement between the social partners is necessary i.e., a written agreement between the relevant trade union and specialist organisation of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber. Moreover, short-time work goes hand in hand with receiving short-time work grants from the Austrian Public Employment Service (ams). If your employer prescribes short-time work, you will benefit from continued salary or wage payments in Austria, but with small-scale reductions. Furthermore, this approach ensures the ongoing existence of your position in the company. 
   
• On-call duty: In Austria one refers to on-call duty as an employee committed to being available outside of regular working hours. In this case the employee may determine where he or she is physically located at this time. Generally speaking, on-call duty is to be agreed upon between the employee and employer and is not considered to be working time. According to the law, there are limits imposed upon availability during rest periods. This availability may not exceed the defined maximum of ten days per month. As soon as the on-call employee is called upon to work, his or her working hours begin. In this case the daily rest period may be reduced to eight hours when you have extended another daily rest period by at least four hours.
   
• Travel time: If you are travelling on business i.e., you travel on behalf of your employer in order to perform your work at a different location, the time devoted to this is called travel time. A distinction is made between active and passive travel time. Active travel time is when you perform work during this time because, for example, you have to drive the car to reach a business appointment. For this reason, active travel time is considered by the law to comprise regular working hours. In contrast, passive working time means, for example, that you travel by train in a sleeping car or take a taxi or are a passenger in a car and do not perform any work during this period. In the case of passive travel time, the legally prescribed maximum of twelve hours of work in one day or 60 hours per week may be exceeded. The rules applying to payment for travel times are frequently laid down in collective agreements. But please note that the time you require to commute to work using public transportation is not considered to comprise travel time by the Austrian Working Hours Act.   
   
• Night work: A person is considered a night worker if he or she regularly works between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. or works at least three hours during this time for 48 nights per calendar year. A night worker is entitled to additional rest periods if regular working time is exceeded by eight hours.

Maximum limits stipulated in the Working Hours Act 

We will summarise the main provisions for you. In Austria you are not allowed to work for more than twelve hours per day and 60 hours per week, including overtime. Total working time may not exceed 48 hours per week based on a 17-week average. Nevertheless, there are many exceptions also included in the Working Hours Act. In case of doubt, find out more by contacting your works council or the Austrian Chamber of Labour. 

Working time for drivers 

Special working hour regulations exist for some vocational groups such as professional drivers of motor vehicles due to the particular working environment. These rules are designed to prevent overtiredness on the part of the person sitting behind the steering wheel and thus avoid any impairment of the individual’s ability to drive. However, there are diverging regulations applying to different professions. The following points apply to all motor vehicle drivers:  

• Driving time refers to the entire time sitting behind the steering wheel during one’s work. This also includes waiting times resulting from traffic jams or at traffic lights. A distinction is made between daily and weekly driving times.
   
• Break from driving or interrupting the journey: Driving times must be regularly interrupted by taking breaks from driving. This time serves the purpose of recovery and regeneration on part of drivers. As a result, no other work can be performed during these breaks. Breaks from driving comprise paid working time.
   
• Working time includes driving time, breaks from driving, breaks and other working times. In other words, the total working time consists of the entire time between two rest periods.

Hospital Working Hours Act 

The so-called Hospital Working Hours Act applies to healthcare professionals working in hospitals or nursing facilities. Here you will find a brief summary of the most important points:

• The upper limit for daily working time amounts to thirteen hours. A healthcare professional is allowed to work for up to 60 hours in a given week. However, the average weekly working time may not exceed 48 hours per week calculated on the basis of a 17-week period.
   
• Extended periods of service are only permissible if the person is not continuously deployed, or there is no other alternative for important organisational reasons and a corresponding company agreement exists. For example, extended periods of service of 25 hours can apply for nursing staff and up to 29 hours for doctors and pharmacists (valid until 31 December 2020).
   
• Breaks of 30 minutes apply after six hours of work, similar to the regulations contained in the Austrian Working Hours Act. However, in the case of extended periods of service of more than 25 hours, the employee must be allowed two breaks of 30 minutes each.
   
• A healthcare professional is entitled to a daily rest period of eleven hours after daily working time is over or after an extended period of service. If you have worked between eight and thirteen hours, you must increase your rest period by an additional four hours once within the next ten calendar days. After extended periods of service, the rest period in the following 17 calendar days is increased by the number of hours exceeding thirteen hours of work.
   
• The weekly period of rest is similar to the rules laid down in the Austrian Working Hours Act.